Deductions In Time & Space
by DarkCowboy
Summary: Sherlock is dragged back from dismantling Moriarty's network for a case that is threatening the world. He is thrust into a world of superheroes, aliens and magic and it is all he can do to stay alive, let alone comprehend what is happening. Can he help find the Tesseract and stop Loki before Loki stops him? If not for the human race then for John who will perish if Loki succeeds
1. Chapter 1

**This is timelined shortly after the Reichenbach Fall, Sherlock is in Europe dismantling Moriarty's networks and is dragged back after Loki attacks SHIELD head quarters. It takes place throughout the Avengers movie. **

**Deductions in Time & Space**

"Found you dear brother." Came a drawling voice in his ear, the voice of a man he had been trying to hide from, his older brother, Mycroft Holmes. "The holiday is over, time to come home."

**Chapter 1 – National Importance**

"You look much better now Sherlock." Chided Mycroft as he walked into the room, clean shaven and washed.

"Now will you tell me why you have brought me back? I would like to know why you interrupted my work! I haven't even been dead a few damned weeks." Sherlock growled.

"Yes, I am sorry but I couldn't bear to look at you when you were pretending to be a Neanderthal." Mycroft sighed.

"The Neanderthal look kept me from being found out." He snapped back, footsteps came from behind him and two secret service agents came up behind him, or so he thought until he looked closer.

Americanised clothing, latex suits, weapons on display. Arrogant stance and movement, no sunglasses. He curled his lip up as he looked them over.

"Americans, you're not the CIA, who are you?"

"No sir, we're not." A voice said that did not come from either man with a thick American accent, both stepped aside and their imposing figures were made even more imposing by the person who walked between them. Short, balding, suited and wearing sunglasses, the agent stepped past the other two to stand in front of them.

"Mr Holmes, I have heard a lot about you." He held out his hand with a very peculiar look on his face.

"It's not like an agent to get star struck… What is going on here, who are you people?"

The smile faltered on the agent's face and he dropped his hand. "My name is Agent Phil Coulson and I work for SHIELD, you need to come with us Mr Holmes."

"SHIELD?" Sherlock turned round to his brother and gave him a questioning look.

"I'm just the messenger boy this time Sherlock, they need you, it is a matter of-"

"National Importance?" Sherlock mused.

"**Inter**national Importance." Mycroft lowered his gaze, bringing his nose out of the air; his look gave a warning to Sherlock. This was bad, Moriarty was child's play compared to this.

Sherlock turned back to the men.

"Where are we going?"

"Manhattan Mr Holmes, now please come with us." Coulson swept past the two larger agents who flanked him as he walked out of the room, Sherlock and Mycroft followed behind cautiously.

"What is going on Mycroft, this is not your normal everyday matter of international importance?" Sherlock hissed through his teeth at Mycroft as they dropped back slightly from the men.

"I'm sorry Sherlock, I cannot tell you, the world is in danger Sherlock, and I do mean _the world_. There are things in this world you know nothing about and what you will see over the course of this case is going to challenge everything you know or thought you knew. Do not get lost in your mind when the time comes Sherlock, you are going to be placed into real danger this time."

"Are you saying Moriarty was not 'real danger'?" He worked to keep his voice low as they walked up a set of stairs that led to the roof.

"You don't know the half of it dear brother. Promise me you'll be careful."

"Sentiment." Sherlock used it like a curse word, but his gaze soften on Mycroft as they stopped on the roof of the building where a helicopter was waiting.

"Look after John for me, keep him safe." Sherlock went to walk away but felt a tug on his coat.

"I always have, but Sherlock…" Sherlock turned back to Mycroft to see the man losing his calm exterior. "If this does not go well, come home, what ever it takes, come back to John and your family. Do not stay out there when the world ends."

"The world ends? What are you talking about Mycroft? What do you know?!" He sucked in a breath, trying not to let Mycroft's silly emotions affect him.

"Be safe brother." Mycroft let go of his coat as the helicopter rotors started to turn, Sherlock pulled his coat up to his face and hurried away and into the helicopter where the agents were waiting. He shouted over the noise to try and get them to speak to him, but all he got was cryptic sentences back as they lifted off the helipad and up into the sky.

A short helicopter ride took them to London Heathrow Airport, where they were ushered into a blacked out windowed car and out to a private jet. During the long hours of the flight Sherlock tried to figure out what he could, the agents would not allow him any details of the case, saying it would need to be explained by another. He gazed over the men with focused eyes, allowing himself to look bored and careless whilst inside his head he was working hard.

When the plane finally touched down Sherlock felt like he was made of wood from sitting in the seats for hours in silence.

They were met by a large military carrier craft, where Sherlock was introduced to a man named Captain Steve Rogers whom Agent Coulson was acting frighteningly like a little girl around, Sherlock made a mental note for later. He was told the Captain was an experimental soldier who was a lot older than he looked, Sherlock tried not to roll his eyes at the casual way they spoke about things that were impossible, just in passing as if he was in on their little jokes. The two men merely nodded at each other and Sherlock sat down to deduce what he could from this Captain whilst he and Coulson spoke. They taken out of Manhattan and onto the open water, they alighted on a floating aircraft base as other crafts dropped down to join them.

After exiting the fanciful craft to stand upon an even more fanciful base Sherlock was getting more and more agitated by being kept in the dark. It seemed everyone but he had been informed about why they were here and he was beginning to wonder if it was just because he was British and the Americans were embarrassed to have had to call on Britain to help once more.

He was introduced to a Russian woman called Natasha Romanov who was some form of assassin, her low tolerance attitude and over confident nature suggested she had been in a lot of trouble in her younger years, but before Sherlock could do too much observing, or listening to the talk of Agent Coulson's Captain America Trading Cards (It was all Sherlock could do not to laugh) he was introduced to a very interesting specimen indeed. Twitchy, nervous, shuffling about and rubbing his hands together was one Doctor Banner, a man trying very hard to hide a secret. He caught Sherlock's rapt attention immediately, making him think better of this case so far, he as definitely the most interesting human he had met yet.

Romanov came up behind them and the look on her face made Sherlock instantly brace himself, something big and disconcerting was about to happen. Right on queue the engines on the floating platform roared into life and the base rocked precariously in the water. Sherlock checked his surroundings quickly, noting the perimeter of the boat, the way it was made and he had a distinct feeling he was missing something, he saw the straps and rings in the platform's floor, heavy duty doors and airlocks, saw the way the runways were made and the men pulling on oxygen masks, a thought dawned upon him, _it can fly! _People started to run left and right, securing anything out on the deck as the three men walked forwards to look over the edge and into the water. The platform lurched underneath their feet as great engines made whirlpools before lifting out of the water. The sickening wrench he felt at his stomach as they rose up into the air clawed at Sherlock, trying to diminish his outer calm and he forced himself to step back from the edge. He and tall edges did not go well together.

They were taken into a large room filled half way round with a glass screen so that you could see the open ocean underneath you. Computers of all shapes and sizes as well as screens and other forms of technology Sherlock had not encountered before lined the front portion of the room and in the middle was a small platform where a very imposing man was standing. He had an eye patch on and an expression of ice, his face gave the impression of a man who had seen terrible things and the commanding presence that gave Sherlock no doubt that he was the leader here.

Captain Rogers walked forwards and gave the man a $10 bill, a source of some form of bet no doubt, and then went to inspect the bridge as Banner walked around inspecting all the doors and guards. Sherlock raised an eyebrow at him but kept his deductions to himself as he faced the man who had the answers to his questions.

He shook both their hands and introduced himself to Sherlock as Nick Fury, leader of SHIELD, a top secret agency for keeping the world safe from non terrestrial threats. Sherlock stood there for a moment, trying his hardest not to scoff and wondering if this was Mycroft's punishment for faking his own death and disappearing. Banner asked Fury about something called a 'Tesseract' and told them they needed to use 'spectrometers' to find it. His eyes flicked to Romanov who was flicking through a man's file, concern hidden on her face, but not well enough to fool Sherlock. Her whole posture screamed of the emotional turmoil she was fighting inside.

Romanov took Banner away to his very own laboratory and Sherlock was left trying his best not to look bewildered.

"I imagine you have some questions you want answered Mr Holmes." Fury rounded on him, a look of contempt on his face.

"I'll let you start." Sherlock replied coolly.

"My agents and I have been working on using the powers of the Tesseract, a stand alone energy source found at the bottom of the ocean."

"Stand alone, as in self powered? But that is impossible." Sherlock hoped he didn't sound confused.

"To someone like you, yes. The Tesseract is not only an energy force but a portal, something came through that portal. SHIELD monitors and controls extra terrestrial encounters that happen on our planet, do you watch the news Mr Holmes?"

Sherlock stayed silent, watching this curious man, his mind running through many possibilities and conclusions, mainly that the man was crazy or that he was knocked out somewhere in Europe.

"You may remember a couple of years ago a town in America was levelled in a day and no one could figure out what happened. An alien force had entered Earth and fought on our soil, destroying a whole town in the process. We had to cover it up."

"Aliens, how delightfully childish, what is really going on."

"No one is being childish Mr Holmes, you have been brought her as our world is under threat. As of right now, whilst everyone you know is sipping tea and eating crumpets," Sherlock sniffed at the stereotyping, though, he could really do with a cup of tea right now, "the world is at war with an unknown alien threat. SHIELD headquarters was recently destroyed when an alien being by the name of Loki came through the Tesseract and stole it, he has declared that he will take over our planet and brainwashed some of our top minds to help him do it. We need to find the Tesseract and his plans for it, than Mr Holmes is where you come in. They say you can solve any case, find any missing thing and prove things that can't be proven, am I mistaken?"

"You aren't, no."

"Then you will have to believe what I say, you'll soon see either way."

Sherlock stepped off the platform and over to the window, his mind working furiously to disentangle this puzzle and find the facts and separate them, surely they were covering up for something. He scanned the room a few times, picking out things that seemed important, including the layout, every door and every guard.

Before too long urgent beeping had started. 'We got a hit!' came a voice of a man at one of the computers.

Fury dismissed the Captain and turned to Sherlock. "Are you ready to see the truth in my words Detective?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Gods Don't Exist**

The flight in the military jet was an uncomfortable one for Sherlock. He was sitting in the midst of a man in a spangly blue suit embellished with the American colours and a fancy shield, an assassin whose clothes couldn't get tighter unless they were painted onto her skin, an Agent who was practically drooling over spangly suit and jumped up military agents.

He felt all together like he was in some kind of comic book and the thought amused him to no end but also made him very uncomfortable, he was expecting a camera to jump out at any moment and for Mycroft to scream 'Gotcha!'

The craft slowed down and he got up to peer over Romanov's shoulder as she manned the craft, they were in Germany and in front of them was a very curious sight. A large crowd of people were on their knees and were flanked in all four corners by men dressed in what had to be the most stylishly tasteless get up Sherlock had ever seen. The men were wearing bronze helmets with large horns protruding from them, long green capes, brass fittings and leather clad under it all, they were all holding large staffs emitting a blue glow not unlike the colour of the Tesseract, as he watched on he could swear the men where emitting small flickers of light. At the head of this strange procession was a man in the same uniform avidly talking to the kneeling men and women, as the craft slowed to a halt a man stood up and faced him.

"Captain, now!" Shouted Romanov without taking her eyes off the scene in front of them.

"Who are they Agent Romanov." Sherlock whispered in her ear.

"Not they, he. There is only one of them, the others are magical projections of the one standing at the head of the crowd."

Sherlock snorted and she shot him a dark look before the man's staff started to glow ominously, he moved his arm as if to thrust the spear at the man and a bolt of light shot from the staff. Sherlock grabbed the chair as he watched, not even a split second had passed and the Captain was in front of the man, shield raised, the bolt hit the shield and deflected back into the man with the staff who was knocked to his feet.

Not trusting his voice Sherlock merely watched on, eyes wide, as they pulled the craft closer to the man. Romanov opened a voice link and called for the man, who was apparently Loki, to stand down. A blue light shot at the craft from the staff and Sherlock was thrown into the side of the craft as she dodged it. He righted himself, holding onto the chair tighter this time as a fight ensued.

Romanov tried to get closer to get a lock on the man but before she could the voice link was overridden by what sounded like, yes, it was rock music.

"Agent Romanov," came an American voice over the speakers, "miss me?"

Romanov smirked as the music volume was turned up and blasted out of the craft, Sherlock barely saw the figure shoot out from the sky. Both Loki and the Captain looked up in time to see Loki blasted by a white light from the figure. Loki was barrelled across the floor as a red and gold metal suited figure dropped onto the floor and raised his hand.

Loki sat up as the two men approached him, Sherlock barely believed what he saw when the man's armour disappeared from him in a wavering light. _He must be using projectors, possibly on the buildings around him. _Loki raised his hands and surrendered, much to Romanov and indeed Sherlock's surprise. There was no possible way the man they had just seen fighting could give up so easily, especially not the man he had been told about by Fury. This case was getting ever more twisted as it wore on but Sherlock knew one thing for sure. This man had planned this all along and they were giving him exactly what he wanted.

Loki was brought onto the craft and sat down, secured into a seat. Sherlock was introduced to the man in the suit, Tony Stark, who was apparently a really famous super hero.

"Super Heroes don't exist." Sherlock had scoffed at them.

"After all you've just seen do you really believe that?" Romanov said loudly to him.

"Magic tricks and technology don't impress me Agent Romanov."

"Well good, we weren't trying to impress you your highness." A sarcastic Stark clapped him on the shoulder with his metal plated hand and nearly sent him flying. "Oops sorry princess." He grinned.

Romanov shot him a look that said 'he does this to everyone' before turning to speak to the brightly coloured men.

Sherlock sat down a few seats away opposite the imprisoned man and watched him closely. He had long hair, slicked back from his face and an air of arrogance that even in his quiet state could not be contained. He stared straight back at the detective, his eyes doing the grinning for him. Sherlock tried not to be unnerved by the stare and got to work, what he saw was a mess of insecurities.

The man in front of him was lonely, by far the loneliest man Sherlock had ever encountered, including himself. He was an unwanted man, a burden. There was a troubled past hidden under the arrogant surface and a longing for acceptance. Sherlock raised an eyebrow and looked back at the others who were conversing quietly.

"Daddy issues?" Sherlock whispered to the man, whose eyes widened and he balled his fists up in his restraints before slamming himself forward into his harness, trying to get at Sherlock. "Bingo."

Stark noticed and came over to them. "What did you say to reindeer games here?"

"I asked him a question he didn't like."

"Don't provoke the prisoner please Mr Holmes." Called Rogers from the front of the plane.

"You brought me here to deduce, so I am deducing."

"Is that what you're doing here Great Detective?" Sherlock looked back to Loki to see him staring intently at him.

"I still don't rightly know why I am here, all I know is your tea is terrible and it is too hot." Sherlock tried to avoid questions whilst the others were watching, he wanted to examine this man more, he couldn't do so with the others interrupting.

"I have to agree there, well, about the heat part. I do not know what 'tea' is. Asgard is always warm, but this heat is insufferable."

"Says Mr Rock Star sporting all leather, maybe you should tone it down a little." Said Stark.

"Says the man in the bright red metal suit?" Loki raised both eyebrows at him, trying to look completely innocent.

"Don't hate, it's not my fault you're too young to grow facial hair and have to wear that get up to make yourself feel older." He snapped back easily.

"Young? I am 2,000 years old! Your confidence is inspiring, but you are clearly misjudging me."

"How could a man be 2,000 years old." Sherlock said, not posing it as a question, but as a statement.

"I am not a man Detective Holmes, have you not deduced that yet? In all your great wisdom you are still so unwise to the world around you. I am Loki, rightful King of Asgard, I come from a galaxy far from your universe and I am here on Midgard to rule your people."

"Wonderful, say that again but this time make it believable." Sherlock barely had time to take a breath to hold as Loki answered, but this time, it was not Loki who answered.

"Does this body fair me better? It feels so weak and tiny, but there is power, such power in these veins." He touched his hand to his hair and pushed the mop back from his face as he looked into Sherlock's eyes. Sherlock looked back into his, which were now identical to the detective's, as was the man who held his gaze. "Not sure about the hair though."

"Optical illusions are easy to do." Sherlock held his voice steady, but it still came out too quickly. Loki smirked and Sherlock felt giddy seeing his body doing actions he wasn't in control of.

Stark and Rogers watched on, slightly amused.

"Why don't you try it Detective?" Loki flicked his hand towards Sherlock from his restraints and Sherlock felt a curious tingle go through his body. He looked down at his hands to see another mans, his arms clad in leather. He raised a hand to his face, feeling the unfamiliar shapes and ran it through his hair, now past shoulder length, he pulled it in front of his eyes and swallowed hard.

"You two suit each other, both have the same cheekbones, its adorable don't you think Captain?" Stark grinned as he watched and the Captain merely twitched a lip in response.

"Stop it, how are you doing this?"

"I told you, I am not from here. I am a god." Loki's form shimmered and returned to his own.

"Gods don't exist."

"Oh but they do, have you ever heard of Norse Mythology Detective?"

As a matter of fact, Sherlock had read into it in great lengths for a case. His mind reeled through file upon file until it hit the one it needed. Loki, God of Mischief from Norse Mythology.

"You're telling me you're a Norse God?"

"No, just a god, our race used to be worshipped by yours as their deities, we are written into your history so well and yet people have forgotten us just as easily. With our abilities in strength, speed and magic your people were in awe of our power."

"So if you are Loki, your father must be Odin?" Loki started and Sherlock curled his lips into a small smile. "Like I said, Daddy Issues. This is what it is all about."

"King Odin is not my father."

"Then how are you the rightful King of Asgard?"

Loki leant back from his restraints and Sherlock felt the tingle again, he looked down to see his hands were his again and had to catch himself before he sighed with relief. Sherlock went to speak again but was silenced by Captain Rogers, who took a place opposite Loki.

"Enough games, tell us what you know."

"Oh, you'll have to try harder than that soldier."

The ride back to base was slow and it wasn't helped by the darkening, clouded skies threatening a storm. How much time had passed Sherlock couldn't be sure. They had tried to interrogate Loki, but he had given nothing but sarcasm and quips in reply.

Sherlock never took his eyes off the man, the 'god'. The things he was picking up on, this man was so broken and alone, cast out, overlooked and forgotten. Sherlock felt a small tug of pity for the man, who was reminding him of his days alone before he had known what friendship was. He waited until the men were deep in conversation again before sliding over so he was opposite Loki.

"You can keep up the arrogant pretences with the muscle over there, but you're not fooling me." He hissed.

"So if they are the muscle, does that make you the brain Detective?" He drawled.

"Why have you come here?"

"Must I repeat myself again? I know not how much more of this pointless repetitive interrogation I can take."

"Then give us the answers."

"I am here to take over the world."

"Very very retro bond movies feeling here." Loki cocked his head at Sherlock and Sherlock ignored him. "So what, they're super heroes and you're a… Super villain?"

"I suppose I am. Does that excite you Detective? No more run of the mill criminals, no, not even a mastermind could match a god."

"Just remember that super heroes always win, global domination never works out. Good triumphs."

"Do you really believe that?"

Sherlock blinked at looked at him, before standing up and joining the other men.

As they flew past snowy capped mountains in the darkness lightning erupted from the sky, lighting up the sky and scenery below.

"Where's this coming from?" Agent Romanov watched skies anxiously.

Sherlock sat back down in a seat and watched Loki, whose calm demeanour suddenly changed to one of fear.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Rogers jibed.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki admitted with a resigned look on his face and a sarcastic edge to his voice.

Suddenly a large sound vibrated through the craft as something heavy struck the outside, Loki looked like someone who was waiting for something and Sherlock kept his eyes fixed on him. Stark put his mask back on and opened the carrier door, onto which a tall figure struck. Loki sucked in a breath and balled his fist as Stark was struck in the chest by what seemed to be a giant hammer. The man came into the light, as tall and broad as an oak tree, golden hair tumbled from his head and blue eyes that matched Loki's in their intensity observed the crafts interior quickly. He was plated with armour from head to foot and a long red cape billowed out behind him, without another word he snatched Loki up, snapping the restraints as if they were made of paper, and leapt from the plane swinging his hammer in his hand.

As the others suited up and sprang into action Sherlock could only sit there, an image burned into his mind that matched something he had seen before. _Loki, God of Mischief, brother of Thor, God of Thunder. _He wasn't lying.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – The Avengers**

Stark followed the two Gods out of the plane, and close behind them was Rogers, jumping out in a parachute as Romanov tried to stop them. She looked back over to Sherlock and shrugged before turning the craft around and following them.

"Where are they!" Romanov said through gritted teeth as she searched the dark skies, Sherlock watched through the screen over her shoulder when some lights caught his eye.

"There, over there!" He pointed as a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and into a clearing in the forest below, she steered the craft slowly, watching the surroundings for any sign of danger as Sherlock watched the shots of light increase.

Something dropped out of the sky, Rogers at a guess, and joined in the fight. All Sherlock could make out was shots of light and sparks as hammer hit metal, until a great clashing sound broke through the silence and the craft was flung back in the air as it was buffeted by wind and sound alike, alarms sounded and red lights flashed inside the craft and Sherlock wished nothing more that he was on solid ground at that moment. As Romanov got the craft under control she managed to take it down to the clearing where the three men were facing each other off.

"Where is Loki?" She called out over the intercom system and Thor pointed to a cliff face, she looked over, turning a bright light on outside the craft and pointed it. Loki was sitting there with a look of glee on his face; he shielded his eyes as the light hit him and waved sarcastically.

Romanov set the craft down and Sherlock opened the hatch, Rogers came in none the worse for wear, Stark on the other hand was scuffed and battered and looking thoroughly unsatisfied. A few minutes more and Thor appeared, dragging Loki who seemed to really be enjoying himself.

"It is so wise to put us all in this metal container together?" He spat as he was thrown down into another seat and restrained. Thor ignored him and looked around before walking over to Romanov.

"I am Thor Odinson of Asgard, Loki is my brother."

"I know who you are; we have been monitoring you since the first encounter."

"I am sorry that my brother causes so much trouble for your people, Midgard is under my protection and I will not let his evil schemes continue."

"Midgard?" Rogers asked.

"It is known as Earth to your people." Thor said darkly.

"You're doing a bang up job there God of Thunder." Stark retorted.

"Do not provoke me metal man."

"Put down the hammer and lets see how good your armour is?"

"Enough! Can we get back to base in one piece and without losing the prisoner!" Romanov shouted and everyone fell silent.

Sherlock sat back down and watched Loki again, filing every single detail of his behaviour away ready for when it was needed.

"I don't know about your planet Detective, but where I come from it is rude to stare."

"I'm recording information."

"Is that so?" Loki trailed off as Thor approached and sat down next to him, hammer in hand.

"Who are you?" Thor watched Sherlock closely.

"Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective."

Thor looked at him blankly.

"He solves puzzles brother." Loki sighed.

"I wouldn't put it so plainly, I am hired to solve cases, murder, kidnapping, that sort of thing."

"So why are you here?"

"I keep asking myself the same thing."

When they touched down on the base that was rolling through the clouds they were met by more than a dozen heavily armed guards who took Loki away, the grin on his face never faltered as he was flanked and marched into the base.

They all gathered around a large table to listen to Fury speak to Loki, whose keen mind and eyes were keeping Fury on his toes with ease. Sherlock couldn't help but want to interrogate this ma-God whatever further, he was posing as much of an interest to Sherlock as Moriarty had, though who was more unstable Sherlock had yet to discover.

Rogers asked Thor to get them up to speed, an army from outer space. This was getting even more incredulous as the days wore on. Only a few days ago Sherlock had felt secure in his knowledge of things, science, not myth and magic, was his passion and he knew that the latter did not exist. Now he was forced to confront something that frightened him greatly, they were not alone in the universe and magic surely did exist. And they were at war with a force they could not hope to subdue, a force far greater and advanced than they were.

Stark entered with an air of cool confidence and started reeling things off about Thermonuclear Astrophysics.

"Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"No, you're not and I quite agree Stark." Sherlock sighed, hating to have to admit it.

"Take notes America, Britain is pulling ahead!" Stark clapped before he and Banner started discussing things, Sherlock got the feeling he was purposefully using the Physics terminology to throw everyone off and enjoyed that he seemed to be the only one capable of understanding them.

Fury entered and told them both to get started in the lab, Stark turned round and motioned to Sherlock. "Shall we play Doctor, Detective, you too." Sherlock sighed once more and got up, he really was at a loss right now as to what was going on.

Sherlock watched on as the two men worked, occasionally pointing out things they had missed, he was no scientist but his brain was unparalleled in most fields so he was able to contribute easily. For the most part he kept quiet, watching the two men and how they moved, how they worked. He wanted to know what Banner was hiding desperately.

He watched as Stark prodded Banner with something electrified, his eyes narrowing on the two's reactions when Rogers walked in.

"Hey! Are you nuts!"

"Jury's out." He turned back to Banner. "You really have got a lid on it haven't you, what's your secret?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Rogers voice betrayed his calm demeanour, _he's frightened, everyone but Stark is terrified of Banner!_

"Funny things are."

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny, no offence doc."

"It's alright," Banner stuttered, "I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things." His eyes flicked back to Stark, amusement on his face clear.

Before Stark and Rogers could start arguing Sherlock stepped in.

"I may seem to you like a useless commodity, but I was brought here for a reason, now you need me, so will someone please tell me what is actually going on?" He stared the men down and Banner looked away.

"I actually find you useful princess." Said Stark, grinning. "Dr Banner here was in an accident whilst experimenting, trying to find out how to create what turned our Capsicle here into 'Mr Super Soldier', it went wrong and he was exposed to a large amount of radiation, instead of dying he just got anger management issues."

Sherlock raised his eyes at Banner, hope for a less sarcastic and cryptic explanation.

"When I get angry I turn into a monster."

"Like, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?!" Sherlock bit his tongue before he scoffed; he really had to stop doing that.

"Except he turns green." Stark chimed in. "Here I'll show you." He wandered over to a clear screen hanging down and tapped it before flicking things left and right with his fingers. Videos opened up on all different screens.

There was Agent Romanov fighting ('Codename Black Widow' Stark mused), Stark beating people to a pulp ('That's me! Iron Man'), Captain Rogers defending civilians ('Captain America' Stark teased to Rogers who pursed his lips and folded his arms), a man that looked like the man in the files Romanov had been mooning over shooting people with arrows in quick succession ('That's Agent Barton, aka Hawkeye, captured by Loki' Said Stark) and then there was something that made Sherlock stagger back in shock. There on the last screen was a gigantic green creature smashing its way through the streets and being shot at, all the bullets glancing off its thick hide.

"You become that!" Sherlock leant back against a table as his mind went beserk.

"Not the most flattering video but yes." Banner replied heavily.

"That is The Hulk! Look they even have you!" Stark cried gleefully before thrusting a screen into Sherlock's face, there were he and John, rushing after criminals and even videos of them outside the flat or conversing with Lestrade. "You don't have a cool nickname though, you need one!"

"What is this?" Sherlock gasped as he regained his composure.

"The Avengers Initiative, a project to find the beings in the world most capable of saving the day and bringing them together when the world is under threat."

"But you're all here because you have super strength or can fly or transform. And I-"

"You're the most brilliant mind in Europe and probably the world Mr Holmes." Rogers answered.

"I don't think…" Normally Sherlock would enjoy having his ego rubbed, but this was all getting too much for his 'brilliant' mind to handle.

"You should be incredibly useful to us Mr Holmes as I know Fury is hiding something from us." He argued with Rogers before carrying on. They then both looked to Banner.

"A warm light for all mankind, Loki's jab at Fury about the cube, I think that was meant for you." He pointed at Stark. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"Stark tower? That big ugly…" Stark threw Rogers an annoyed look. "Building in New York."

Stark looked over to Sherlock before throwing another image up on the screen, this time of a giant building, at least three times the size of London's biggest, with his name plastered on it in glowing letters. He tried to hide his contempt and nodded to Stark.

"Its powered by an Arc Reactor, a self sustaining energy source." Sherlock had to remind himself that yes, they do exist before he scoffed and let Banner continue talking. Stark and Rogers had to bounce off each other a few more times after Stark mentioned that he had been hacking SHIELD's database, before they got to the point, which Sherlock had already concluded, but let them say anyway.

Steve left them too it after Sherlock had to hold himself back from agreeing with Stark about his outfit and they started discussing Loki's plans, before Stark brought Banner's ailment back into question. Sherlock leant against the table, his hands together on his chin and left them to it, his mind working at dizzying speeds over the information he had just been given.

Without a word he got up and left them to it, he needed to go and speak to Loki, he needed to find out why he had let them capture him, he left the two men and whisked himself down the corridors until he found the holding area.

Loki was standing in the middle of the glass cage with his hands behind his back and arrogance coming off him in waves.

"Detective, I wondered when you would visit me; I knew you couldn't resist me." He drew back his lips in a grin that was almost a snarl and Sherlock narrowed his eyes.

"You were right."

Loki raised an eyebrow.

"What you said, about if I truly believed in the good guys winning. I don't believe in heroes, I certainly don't believe in super heroes and I don't believe in villains. I believe in purpose, everyone does something for a reason, for their own reasons, people can pass it off as wanting to do it for the people and for others but it all comes down to them in the end. There is no good or bad, only different motives."

Loki stepped forwards and looked at Sherlock with piercing eyes. "And you want to know my purpose? My motive?"

"It would be a huge help, you are feigning your power right now. There is no way that you could be captured this easily."

"You could be right." He stepped right up to the glass now, he was only slightly taller than Sherlock, but much more imposing, he narrowed his eyes as he searched Sherlock's face. "So if you don't believe in heroes and villains, why are you here?"

"Boredom."

"Boredom?"

"Yes, I was bored, I needed something to do and this opportunity presented itself to me."

"Do you not mean you were dragged her against your will?"

Sherlock thinned his lips, hoping Loki hadn't noticed, but of course he had. Sherlock wondered just how perceptive this man was compared to him. "It started that way, but once I got on board I knew this was exactly where I needed to be to quell my boredom."

"How does a man who believes in science come to terms with gods?"

"With great difficulty actually, though you're doing a good job of convincing me between yourself and your brother. He has got this whole god thing really working for him. You on the other hand are more like a very bored teenager."

Loki's eyes darkened for a split second, barely noticeable but Sherlock saw it. "I suppose by our almost immortal standards that is exactly what I am."

"Why do you want to take over the world? Out of all the galaxies you chose ours? I knew tourism was good here but surely someone as intelligent as yourself can hold no interest in such a tiny, weak planet. A man of your calibre really should have higher standards."

Loki turned away from him and Sherlock knew he had found something. After a short pause he turned back to Sherlock.

"Boredom." His eyes lit up as he watched Sherlock, he stared him down and Sherlock watched the cool blue eyes turn maniacal. Mycroft was right; this was a whole other level to Moriarty.

"So you really do want to take over the world?" Sherlock's voice stayed the same but his facial expression changed, he knew he was at the wrong angle for the cameras to pick it up so could use it to convey what he really wanted to say, he let it betray his thoughts. _I know what your plan is, I know why you came to Earth. _

Loki's eyes widened and he stepped back from the glass before regaining himself. He flashed the detective a grin, he realised that though Sherlock had figured it out he wasn't going to say anything. What a curious man.

"Yes, I want to rule over Midgard and I would really like to see a mere mortal as yourself try to stop me Detective." He sneered at Sherlock, trying to figure him out.

"Thank you for being honest with me, God of Mischief, until we meet again." Sherlock turned away from him, but risked a look back over his shoulder at the grinning god. "The game is on!" He shouted as he swept from the holding area.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Heroes Collide**

Sherlock went down the corridors, thinking on his next move and almost bumped straight into Nick Fury.

"You're supposed to tell us before you speak to the prisoner."

"Sorry, not accustomed to how you do things over here, my mistake."

"You got nothing out of him though."

"Not a thing."

"Why do I think you're lying?" Fury pulled himself up to Sherlock.

"Why do people always say that to me? Is it my face? Or my accent? British people are much better liars I find." Sherlock enjoyed teasing people who could be angered easily.

"I'm watching you Detective."

"Like you're watching all of us already? Make sure to keep _both _eyes on me then." Sherlock stuck his nose in the air and walked away.

"Detective Holmes." Nick stood with his back to Sherlock. "Just remember that if Loki gets his way, Britain will be in danger as well."

"Britain can take care of herself; she's proved that enough times already." Sherlock walked away, leaving Fury to watch his retreating figure.

He entered into the laboratory to see a very smug Stark and Banner who had successfully made their way through SHIELD's defences and gotten into their database, they showed Sherlock what they had found as Fury walked in, anger etched upon his face.

As Stark asked Fury what 'Phase 2' was, Rogers entered with a very large gun in his hand, which he slammed down onto a desk. SHIELD had been making weapons using the Tesseract to counter other worlds technological advances. As Fury tried to defend himself Thor and Romanov made their way in, obviously hearing the commotion.

The Avengers argued amongst themselves, the situation heating up quicker than any had imagined, Sherlock hung back from the colliding egos and watched with keen interest, until the Sceptre behind Doctor Banner started to glow, then his interest peaked over the edge. Loki truly was going to unleash the monster within the Doctor, Sherlock didn't know if he wanted to witness that. But more intriguing, something was making that sceptre glow. Something was about to happen.

Sherlock slipped from the room unnoticed as the heroes argued and squabbled and headed for Loki's cell.

"You really can't stay away from me can you Detective?"

"No, you're much too interesting to leave alone."

"I do hope that is a compliment."

"Stop flirting and tell me, something is about to happen."

Loki lifted an eyebrow and smirked, ignoring the offhand comment. "My my, you truly are as perceptive as they say you are. Any minute now I am going to walk out of here, would you like to come with me?" Loki smiled as he saw Sherlock falter. "I know you want to see the Tesseract."

"I want to know how you're going to pull this off without letting people figure it out, it only took me a few minutes of time with you to know your master plan."

"But that is the wonderful thing about most mortals, and even most immortals, they don't think, let alone think like you Detective."

Sherlock looked back to the cameras around him and took a breath. "I am afraid I shall stay with the good guys on this one."

"Oh, I wasn't offering a choice." His grin became that of a wolf looking at its prey and he braced himself up against a wall. Sherlock looked at him quizzically before a blast from outside caused the base to shake as if they were in an earthquake. Sherlock dived at the bars beside him as he was knocked off his feet and gasped as he hit the metal hard. Loki started to chuckle from inside his cell as the base because unsteady.

Red lights flashed and alarm signals rang through the corridors as Sherlock heaved himself to his feet. Loki sat down and waited, he was waiting for something else to happen. As Sherlock dusted himself off he heard it, a roar that echoed through the corridors. Loki looked up and smiled at Sherlock. The Hulk had been unleashed.

More explosions rocked the base and Sherlock had to keep his grip on the railing to steady himself, the more explosions the worse Loki laughed and it was unnerving Sherlock terribly. But not as unnerving as when everything went quiet, not just the shots and explosions, everything stopped and it suddenly clicked in Sherlock's head, he whipped round to look at Loki and Loki laughed.

"So much for the good guys!" Loki's voice had become elated and he grabbed the wall as the base lurched to one side sending Sherlock to his knees. "I told you people will kneel before me!" He shouted as the wind started to rip past the base, the engines had stopped, they were falling from the air.

Before he could gather himself he heard footsteps approaching, running in unison towards them both. It wasn't the Avengers. He pulled himself up and came face to face with a gun, he pressed himself back into the railings and stared into the barrel.

"Don't shoot him, he belongs to me now." Loki scorned at the black clad man and they stepped back from Sherlock, keeping the gun trained on him. Sherlock's mind went to work as soon as he could use it again and tried to find a way out, keeping his eyes focused on the men releasing Loki at the same time. One handed Loki his sceptre as he walked out of the cell and he approached Sherlock.

"Like I said, Detective, I wasn't offering you a choice." The man lowered his gun and stepped away as Loki reached out to Sherlock with the sceptre. It was now or never.

Sherlock dove into his mind palace and walled himself inside it, focusing solely on one thought. The first day he met John, the day he fell in love. He blocked out everything, not sound nor light could penetrate his mental barrier, physical pain held no effect and the world around him disappeared. He knew how to evade mental interrogation and torture designed to break a man, he knew how to wall up into his mind and he hoped it could help him avoid being brain washed.

Loki cocked his head as Sherlock's eyes went blank. "Detective?" No answer came, so Loki touched the sceptre to Sherlock's heart.

Sherlock felt the sceptre touch him, felt the sharp point even through the barriers of his mind and he fought it. He clung to every happy thought of John, the way he smiled, the way he laughed, the way he talked. He let his mind fill with his memories as he felt an icy sensation run through his body, spreading from his heart down to his feet and finger tips. _John I'm so sorry, please forgive me for everything I have done to you. _

Loki gripped the sceptre hard as he felt static run from it to his fingers, something was blocking the sceptre. Thoughts hit his mind like a wave of cold water and he saw a man. He recognised him from the research of the Avengers, Dr Watson, Sherlock's assistant. A man he already had spies watching. _Well well well, this man is not just the Detectives weak spot. _He pushed the sceptre harder against Sherlock's chest, enjoying seeing the flush of red across the white shirt underneath his jacket and coat as the Sceptre pierced the skin. He willed everything he had into the Tesseract and finally saw the Detective shudder before opening his eyes, they flashed black before the blue of the Tesseract overtook them.

Sherlock knew he couldn't hold out forever and let his mind falter, he knew Loki was seeing everything he was seeing. He couldn't fight the power of the sceptre but he could hold onto his mind, he would let Loki take him over but he would not lose his consciousness. He felt safe in the power of his mind and dropped his defences, the pain from the sceptre's point flooding through him and the force making him shudder, he flicked his eyes open. His body felt as if he was in a dream like state, like a puppet. Something else was controlling him, but he still had his mind, he could feel himself, he knew if he decided to stop he could. He let Loki believe he had brain washed him, it was his safest option for now and he gave himself over to the Tesseract.

"What do you need me to do my lord."

"That is much better, see how easy it is when you do not fight me mortal. I need you to go with the others."

Sherlock nodded stiffly and followed the men in black suits, they only moved out of sight of the cell and Sherlock listened as someone ran into the detention block. He heard a scream of 'No!' and the door closing and they stepped back into the block, where Thor was now trapped in the prison and Loki was watching with gleeful pleasure.

Loki looked upon his brother with contempt. "Are you ever not going to fall for that?" He sneered.

Sherlock watched on, wrestling his consciousness with that of the Tesseract as Thor tried to escape, he felt Thor's eyes on him and fought the urge to try and show him he was not captured. He must keep up pretences, find out what Loki was doing and stop him.

"The humans think us immortal, shall we test that?" Loki held back laughter as he flipped the case to the button which would send Thor plummeting towards the ground; his hand hovered above it as a cry escaped one of his henchmen.

"Move away please." Came the voice of Agent Coulson, holding a rather impressive gun they had seen in the weapons folder of Phase 2 when Stark hacked SHIELD's database. Loki backed away and moved from the control board. "Like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent The Destroyer, even I don't know what it does. Wanna find out?" He started to fire up the weapon and Sherlock had to fight very hard to keep his body still as he knew what was about to happen.

Loki had been standing behind him for a few seconds and drove the sceptre into Agent Coulson's heart from behind, the image of Loki disappeared as he dropped the writhing Coulson to the floor. He stepped past Coulson, the sceptre dripping blood as Thor fought to keep himself from tearing the cell apart to get to Loki. Loki just smirked at him and gestured to the sceptre as if to say '_it's not all about energy and power, old fashioned ways are useful aswell', _he then flipped the casing to the button up again and pressed it, not even bothering to suppress his joy this time.

He watched the gaping hole in the floor close for a few seconds before walking away.

"You're gonna lose." Came the weak voice from Agent Coulson on the floor, Loki turned to him.

"Am I?"

"It's in your nature."

Loki laughed derisively. "Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky," he took a breath, "where is my disadvantage?"

"You lack conviction." Coulson managed one last smile as he powered up the gun and blasted Loki with it. Loki managed to say 'I don't think I-' before he was thrown across the detention area and through a wall. Sherlock watched then quickly looked back to Coulson. "So that's what it does."

Loki recovered quickly, stepping back through the smashed wall, smoking slightly which only made his anger look more impressive. He gripped the sceptre tightly and swept past the men and out into the hall, Sherlock followed straight behind him hoping he looked eager and receptive as they made their way to the outside of the base where a craft was waiting for them.

"We lost Barton sir." Said one of the men as he entered the craft and he sighed before sitting down. Sherlock sat opposite him and watched him, trying to get his thoughts to be coherent, it was like pushing them through a cheese grater, they were coming through, but not in the same order, and all landing in a heap inside his clear part of his mind. He had to hold on, he just had too. Loki looked over to him and let out a deep breath, grinning and narrowing his eyes like a predator at Sherlock, who kept his face blank as he could, begging his body to show Loki that he had been taken over completely.

The craft lifted off the base and flew away, leaving it dropping through the air with one engine struggling to work, Loki stood up and went to talk to the pilot and Sherlock relaxed slightly, the alien feeling of the Tesseract was draining his energy quickly and he needed to hold out as long as he could.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – What the Heart Wants**

The flight was not a considerably long one, but for Sherlock the minutes ticked by like hours. He moved like a puppet on strings, the Tesseract controlling his body whilst he kept up his desperate attempt to keep hold of his mind. Little words were spoken in the craft until they touched down to base, an underground bunker somewhere even Sherlock could not gather, he was familiar enough with America on maps and famous places but trying to see where he might be was nigh on impossible, they were high above sea level in the middle of nowhere in what seemed to be a disused military base that had been fortified for Loki's uses, he hadn't been allowed to see much on his way in to gather information.

Though the walls were dank and wet, the air was stiflingly hot and most of the men were in t-shirts and their armoured vests, a side effect, no doubt of the Tesseract's power for what little he was allowed to see of the outside of the lair was cold and windy. Sherlock followed the procession through articulately decorated halls that said this once was a grand place, now the polished floors were full of dirt and what seemed to be a type of soil he recognised. Sherlock knelt down, pretending to be giddy and touched his hand to the soil underfoot. Loki stopped and looked back, sending his men on ahead. Sherlock didn't look up and instead touched his hand to his tongue, tasting salt. They were in some form of mountain range; the soils underfoot had inceptisols which were most commonly found in the Appalachian Mountains as well as traces of clay which would suggest Alfisols, meaning they were in the furthest north east range of such mountains. Being that Project Pegasus was in New York and Loki had driven away it would concede that they were in the Adirondack Mountains outside of New York. He filed this away quickly as he heard footsteps approach, he would find out exactly where they were later.

"My dear Detective, you look exhausted."

"Not at all my lord, the Tesseract is merely taking a slight toll on my senses."

"Let us hope it does not exact too great a toll, I need that keen mind of yours. Maybe you shouldn't have resisted so much; I had to put a lot of power into you to make you succumb."

"It does not matter now sir."

"That is the one problem with controlling people's minds, they lose their edge. I liked talking to you Detective; you weren't snide like Stark or patronising like Rogers. You knew how to use words to your advantage."

"Thank you sir." Sherlock straightened up to meet Loki's eyes. His eyes flicked up and down the deserted corridor trying to figure out where they were when Loki stepped closer.

"Are you still in there Detective? Still fighting, for John?"

Sherlock's mouth twitched, ever so slightly and Loki smiled.

"Oh yes, I know all about your dear Doctor Watson, even before I entered your mind, or was it your heart? Do you think he worries for you, do you think he is glued to his television set, anxiety spilling over. No, he doesn't even know you're alive does he? The Great Detective Holmes's last trick, to disappear from his lover's life. Now you'll never see him again, how does that make you feel?"

"My feelings are irrelevant sir."

"Your poor, non reciprocated feelings. Tell me Detective did you ever tell Dr Watson how you felt? I know you didn't, how foolish you must feel now knowing he will never find out."

"It is for the best, I do not need anything getting in the way of my pursuit for knowledge."

Loki raised his sceptre to Sherlock's neck and pushed him back into the wall.

"Understand this Detective, I always get what I want. I want your mind and I will not be letting it go once this conquest is over. You are mine, mind and body do you understand?" He hissed through gritted teeth as he got ever closer.

"Yes sir."

"I want you to say it. Say it."

"I understand sir."

"No, say you're mine."

Sherlock paused and for a terrible second he looked into Loki's eyes and saw everything. Not just the maniacal rage and unstable determination, but the loneliness, the desperation and something else, something new. He narrowed his eyes at Sherlock and pushed the sceptre under his jaw. Sherlock felt a stir of emotions and nearly had to close his eyes for fear of showing them, the pity welled up inside of him for this man and he felt a tug at his heart that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"I am yours sir." Sherlock didn't let his eyes move from the piercing gaze of the blue eyes before him, which he reasoned his eyes must be the same colour as right now. Loki grinned wider, baring his teeth.

"That's better Detective, come, we have work to do." Loki stepped back from him, trailing the sceptre down Sherlock's bare skin to the nape of his neck before taking it away. "You mortals are so fragile, so breakable. It is enough to make me pity you, almost."

Loki moved away from him and swept down the corridor, expecting Sherlock to follow without as much as a glance behind. Sherlock pushed himself off the wall and took a deep breath, he couldn't help feel slightly afraid as those blue eyes that stayed burned to the back of his eyelids, every time he closed his eyes he saw them there, staring into his mind. He remembered something John had once said about how dangerous it would be for the world if Sherlock were ever be on the side of the criminals and it truly made him worry about what he was capable of under Loki's influence. He might have control of his mind, just, but it wouldn't take much to push him over the edge, he felt like his inner self was teetering on a precipice and it would only take a simple nudge, a word or a command from that smooth voice to tip him off of it.

...

Not long after Sherlock was staring into the pulsing blue glow of the Tesseract in complete mental awe, he was transfixed by the white veins threaded through the cube and the blue that shone out from it like a neon light. The ever changing patterns had him lost and it took him a few moments to regain himself, but he had not been staring in vain, what he had seen inside that cube. The galaxies, the worlds, the alien life forms. The 9 realms and their inhabitants and the worlds not yet explored by any being, he had seen true power and truth itself. He saw dark planets inhabited by creatures of such monstrous size and beautiful green planets inhabited by simple human like beings who lived in peace. He took a deep breath and straightened himself up when a voice behind him made him jump and he cursed himself for it.

"Do you like what you see Detective?"

Sherlock blinked a few times as he turned to meet Loki's gaze. "I do not know quite what to make of what I have been shown but it is truly incredible, I cannot thank you enough."

Loki's narrowed eyes softened and his lip curled up into a smirk on one side. "No need to thank me Detective, you are the one helping me after all."

Sherlock held his tongue, fearing he would betray himself with a snide remark and instead nodded before turning back to the cube. He heard Loki's quiet footsteps fade away and breathed out deeply, _how much longer can I keep this up?_

_..._

It was late into the night when Selvig retired and Sherlock was left alone with the research, he had managed to help the scientist with a few problems he had been having with the cube as well as use his own input in certain instances and the Professor had been more than grateful for his contribution. When his mind could no longer focus he pushed his chair away from the computer and looked around, all but a couple had left and the large hall they were in was practically deserted. He stood up and pushed aside the plastic covering to where the Tesseract was kept and stepped out into the gloom, he unbuttoned his jacket and was glad he had taken his coat and scarf off as the heat was getting ever worse as night started to turn to day. He walked down the aisles of technology and weaponry and looked around, willing his brain to note down whatever it could so that he could use it to his advantage when the time came, when he felt a presence near him.

He followed the feeling that was like a nagging sensation that he was in the presence of great power and darkness and turned down a few aisles until he reached a small clearing against a wall, there sat Loki with his eyes closed, sceptre gripped tightly and a snarl on his lips. Sherlock stopped before he reached the light Loki was under and watched; either Loki had not heard him or he did not know he was there. He took a step closer, nothing. He took another step and suddenly felt a surge of power through him that brought him to his knees, the world around him changed and he was plunged into darkness, the sand turned to rock and the stone turned to open horizon and stars. He shook his head as he looked around and saw Loki still sitting there, but now his eyes were open and he was staring straight ahead, Sherlock was glad he was not in his line of sight and turned round to follow Loki's gaze. There was a projection of himself in full armour that was pacing up and down in front of a creature that was like one he had seen within the Tesseract, but instead of being plated in armour this creature was wearing very decorated dress and was obviously not a soldier like the others. He felt another surge of power through him and dropped to his hands, when he blinked again he was back in the sand.

He knew he was stepping into the Tesseract's power field from Loki's sceptre and interrupting it and tried to stand and back away from it, whatever Loki was seeing, however important it could be for Sherlock to know, those power surges were too much for a mortal body to stand much longer. He pushed himself up and staggered, the power pushing him back down and he tumbled forwards to land at Loki's feet. Loki jumped and opened his eyes, bellowing and before Sherlock could react a great force hit him in the chest and he felt himself lifted from the ground. He felt his body collide with the wall and let out a cry of pain as he crashed to the ground, he tasted the salty tang of blood in his mouth and spat it out as he crawled onto his hands and knees. He looked up to see Loki standing before him, his breathing heavy and his hands gripped so tight onto the sceptre his knuckles had turned white. He blinked furiously as his mind felt heavy and fogged, he shook his head, only to feel the fog clear, but this time completely. He raised a hand to the back of his head and felt a tender spot, he drew his hand away to see traces of blood on his finger tips. The blow had severed the connection of the Tesseract over his mind.

"Detective?" Loki seethed. "Are you mad, walking into the Tesseract's power like that, I could have killed you."

"I apologise sir, I got caught in the field and could not get up."

Loki moved closer and stood over Sherlock as he staggered to his feet; he put a hand out to the wall and missed, falling forwards. A strong arm gripped his own and he looked up into Loki's eyes.

Loki stared at him in horror, his grip tightening to become painful on Sherlock's arm as their eyes locked onto each others. He could see Sherlock's natural eye colour once more and they were no longer clouded, he had unknowingly cut the control he held over him. He also knew that he couldn't risk using the Tesseract again on Sherlock until he had recovered from the field's power.

"What are you going to do?" Sherlock cut across Loki's thoughts.

"I could kill you."

"But you won't."

"No, I need your mind Detective, but I need it to belong to me." He relaxed his grip on Sherlock but pulled him closer before he let go, as he did he continued speaking. "Do not try to fight or run Detective, I am ten times faster and stronger than any mortal and you would not make it to the surface before you were captured, and," he paused to chuckle, "even if you did make it to the surface, you would never be found before dehydration or a predator killed you, or you'd simply get lost, maybe tumble off a cliff, so many possibilities."

"I wasn't planning on running."

"Good, so where does that leave us?"

"Well, you need me alive and I can't jolly well walk out of here so it seems you get to keep me, for now."

Loki smirked viciously at Sherlock's words. "I cannot use the Tesseract's power on your mind until your body has recovered from the shock of walking into the field, but do not worry, you will be mine to command once more very soon."

"Until then, why don't you enlighten me as to your master plan?"

"I thought you already had it all figured out, Great Detective?"

"Oh I do, too easily, but I want to hear it from you."

"Walk with me Detective."

"As you wish." Sherlock gritted his teeth and followed the villain down one of the empty corridors.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – The Mind of a King**

"You surprised me Detective, everyone believes it is my goal for ultimate conquest, to rule, regardless of where or whom, but they are wrong. I know how this will end; I know what will become of me and the Chutari. The Avengers will take on my army, if they fail, Midgard will be overthrown and so Thor will send me back to Asgard whilst he cleans up my mess, if they win Thor will take me back to Asgard himself. There I will face the Allfather's law, he will not sentence me to death because he is too sentimental, he will let me live and I will get what I want. I will have the throne of Asgard once more; I do not care for this trifling planet with its weak inhabitants and hypocritical rulers."

"So you will destroy Earth to get back to your world."

"If needs be must, yes."

"And what if your army turn on you? Which I know is a very real possibility; I see it in your eyes."

"Thor will not let them get the Tesseract, even if Odin has to send an army to Midgard to reclaim it."

"What if your army kill you?"

Loki spun on him, pressing his sceptre into Sherlock's collar bone as he pounded his fist against the wall, a feral snarl on his face and his eyes lit up with anger.

"I am not a weak and meagre mortal, I am a god and no species, not even the Chutari, will stop me. They can try; the things I have seen and survived. My brother dropped me into an abyss in space, I dropped through worlds; I was beaten, tortured, enslaved and finally set free. Your race knows nothing of pain, not even you in all your brilliance could ever imagine what I went through in that darkness. I cannot forget these things which haunt me in my every waking moment. Yet I am still alive, my silver tongue and clever strength leant me an invaluable key to unlocking the ultimate powers and I will unleash it tomorrow upon the world you call home. It will not recompense what I have been through, but, it will scorn my brother and father and make them see that I am not to be forgotten about, I am not to be underestimated. I am the perfect foe and I demand recognition, I demand fear. I want the whole of the 9 realms to quake at the mention of my name and kneel to their rightful king."

"You would do all this for a man you claim to hate."

"I do hate him, with all my heart and body."

"No, you don't, or you would have given up this foolish venture a long time ago, anger and hatred do not fuel the fires as much as love, in all its forms, does. Those who no longer care once cared too much, the psychopaths I see on my cases were once innocent and gentle, too gentle, too forgiving."

"I am not one of your cases to study, do not tell me what I feel. What do you know of loss? Of loneliness? What do you know of living in the shadows of your perfect brother, whom you will spend your whole life being compared too whilst your own qualities are overlooked. I am the rightful king of Asgard, it is my birthright and the lie fed to me my entire life, I am merely instilling truth into the lie!"

"Do not think you are the only one who knows pain, yes, mortals pains are very different to someone from a different planet and from what I have seen through the Tesseract it is not something our race could survive, but I do know pain, I know loss and I know what it is like to live in the shadow of a brother."

Loki's anger faltered then and he took his fist away from the wall; he dropped it to his side as he looked into Sherlock's eyes and continued walking.

"Why did you not tell the Avengers of my plans?"

"I needed more proof."

"Do not lie to me Midgardian."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes at the Prince and spoke again. "I wanted to see what you would do; I also didn't think I would be believed. They think they have you all figured out, especially your brother and Romanov, but they don't, not one tiny bit."

"But you do, is that what you are saying Detective?"

"I can see everything; I do not need the Tesseract to see your mind. You are the loneliest and most destructive creature I have ever had the misfortune to lay my eyes upon."

"Would you rather be back in your dear England, making cups of your 'tea' and pining over a man who has no idea how you feel for him? Or better yet, running around Europe taking down the bad guys whilst dearest John sits at home wasting away wishing you were alive?"

Sherlock stiffened and felt his hands ball into fists, he willed himself not to lose his composure but Loki knew every nerve to touch and was not hesitating.

"Go on, strike me, raise your fist to a god. Do you feel empowered Great Detective? Do you really think you could escape my eyes the way I knew I could not escape yours? You can deduce me all you wish but know I can see you just as clearly. Your obsession with knowledge and lust for adventure, your heart, locked away in a chained box for which only one has the key, but doesn't want to use it. For a mind such as yours, you could be a scientist or a philosopher, you could use your brain for anything but yet you settle for being a Detective because your heart, though locked away, yearns to be let out. For a man who hates sentiment, you seem to be very sentimental."

"I could say the same for you, I can't deny your mind is the first match for my own I have ever seen, you could use it to sway any politics you wished, you would not need to raise a finger to rule in the right places, you don't even want to rule, not even on Asgard, yet you use violence as an outlet for your jilted heart."

"It seems for two on the opposite sides of the divide we are very similar creatures Detective."

"So it does."

"Why don't you help me Detective? I can make it so no harm comes to your companion in the coming war, I can keep him safe, or I can put him in danger, all with a whisper in the right ear. You wouldn't want anything to happen to John now, would you?"

Sherlock's breathing hitched at the threat and Loki's smile returned.

"Just what is your dearest Doctor worth to you Detective? Is he worth the war? Join me and he will be safe when the Chutari break through the Avengers stronghold and take over the world."

"And what of when you go back to Asgard? What then becomes of your promises of safety?"

"I can be very persuasive if I need to, but I know the Allfather will sweep this world clean of my army regardless of if I am leading it or not, I can make sure John gets caught in the fight if I want too."

"What will threatening me gain you when you can just take over my mind with your fancy sceptre?"

"I want your mind to come to me freely, so it can work freely and not be clouded by the Tesseract, just think what we could accomplish together with the Tesseract's power, I could show you things your scientific mind could not believe. I could open you up to a different world, to the 9 realms and beyond. I do not plan to stop with Asgard once it is mine, Midgard could be yours to do with as you wish."

"As enticing as global domination sounds, your plans are flawed, Coulson was right, you lack conviction."

"Why must people always doubt me? Every time someone doubts me I show them exactly why they shouldn't, my brother and the Allfather doubted me, it nearly cost them their lives. Doubt me and I won't take yours, I'll take something much more precious."

"I don't doubt you Loki," Loki looked up at the use of his name; he narrowed his eyes at Sherlock, "I just know that no matter how determined you are you are going to fail."

Loki stopped walking and rounded on Sherlock.

"I will not fail and no one, not my brother or my race, not yours or your precious heroes will stop me."

"Then why are you so anxious to prove yourself?"

"I do not need to prove myself, I know what I am; I just enjoy proving others wrong."

"You don't, you could let it go, you could resist."

"And you know so well about resisting that which you shouldn't do Detective?" Loki stepped closer to Sherlock and stared him down. "You, who cannot resist anything, should tell me to let go?"

"This anger born of loneliness and despair will only be your downfall, your brother has only tried to help you yet you continue on this destructive path, causing havoc and mayhem that only brings you more pain."

"My brother is an arrogant fool who does not deserve the throne."

"And what does that make you, believing yourself to be rightful heir, if not an arrogant fool? If you truly hated them, you would not refer to Thor as your brother, as you refuse to refer to Odin as your father."

Loki stopped then, really stopped, his breathing slowed and he narrowed his eyes once more at the Detective, not often could someone stop him in his tracks, never a mortal but this man was making speech and retorts as difficult as breathing underwater.

"It is meant to be mine." He answered bluntly and turned away, hoping his tone would show this subject was over, he knew the answer was quite childish, but he was not going to be provoked anymore by this man, he did not need to give a reason to a mere mortal as to why his birth right should not be denied to him. He didn't need to prove anything he told himself, feel exasperated that he had to reassure himself so much.

Sherlock watched him turn away and the pity welled anew inside him, what a broken man. Sherlock wondered what he had seen to turn him into such a monster. He knew he was treading on dangerously thin ice provoking him so but he couldn't help it, he thought of John, he knew Loki could hurt him so easily and wondered why he hadn't done it already to get Sherlock to cooperate. The real case was this man's mind, not stopping the war or finding the cube. The Avengers were there for that, but Sherlock wondered if he was meant to be captured all along…


	7. Author's Note

Hello everyone, just to let you know that The Calvary Horse and MY OTHER FANFICS WILL BE UPDATED. Sadly my mum dropped her laptop and smashed the screen! My brother managed to retrieve all my fan fictions I had finished off my old broken laptop, incl the finished version of The Cavalry Horse and a fan fiction I hadn't even had time to upload before my laptop gave up the ghost. Please do not despair and THANK YOU for being so patient, it WILL BE FINISHED, THEY ALL WILL BE, please do not give up! 


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